MINING UNCERTAINTY
Protesting workers shut down Guptas coal mine
Hundreds of members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) marched on Wednesday at the Optimum Coal mine, owned by the controversial Gupta family, to express their concerns about its viability. SA’s main commercial banks have cut ties with the Guptas, citing reputational risk. The National Prosecuting Authority declared Ajay Gupta, one of the three Gupta brothers accused of corrupt links to former president Jacob Zuma, a "fugitive from justice" last week. The Guptas and Zuma have consistently denied any wrongdoing. In addition, India’s Bank of Baroda, which counts the family’s operations as clients, has pulled the plug on its South African business. "Our members are concerned they might not get paid this Friday because the Bank of Baroda was handling their payments," said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. Mammburu said NUM members at the coal mine, which supplies power utility Eskom, were also anxious about the future of the Mpumalanga mine and were wondering whether it had been...
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